What is Bitcoin Cash (BCH)? Do I have any? How do I use it?

At 13h16 GMT on Tuesday 1 August 2017, the Bitcoin network forked and formed a new separate blockchain called Bitcoin Cash. Don’t be alarmed. Your Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are safe at Luno.

In fact, if you had a Bitcoin balance in your Luno wallet at the moment of the fork, you would have received the same balance of coins on the new blockchain. This new digital currency is called “Bitcoin Cash” or “BCash” and uses the currency code “BCH” or “BCC”. Luno uses BCH as the currency code.

What do I do now?

You have no obligation to take any action. You can keep your BCH, securely stored at Luno, or you can send it to another BCH-compatible platform if you want to sell it. You can’t send BCH from another platform to Luno.

How do I send BCH?

BCH send transactions are processed by Luno four times per business day. BCH sends will be processed according to the schedule here.

Go to MENU → WALLETS → BCH WALLET

Click on the SEND BITCOIN CASH tab, fill in the required fields and confirm the transaction.

Important: Make sure you send your BCH to a BCH wallet address, not a Bitcoin wallet address. Using the incorrect wallet address may result in the loss of your BCH.

How do I sell BCH?

You can’t sell your BCH for digital or local currency with Luno. You can, however, send your BCH to a BCH-compatible platform and sell there for your desired local or digital currency. We can’t make any suggestions as to what third-party platforms you should use for this, but you can use this comprehensive list.

Does this mean I have twice as much Bitcoin now?

No. If you had Bitcoin at the moment of the fork, you’ll have the same balance of BCH. The price of BCH will vary and fluctuate independently from the price of BTC. For example, BTC 1.0 could be worth $2,500 and BCH 1.0 could be worth $500.

If I send my BCH, will my BTC balance be affected?

If I send BTC to Luno now, will I receive BCH?

No. This blockchain fork was a once-off event. If you want BCH now, you will have to buy it or mine it.

If I sold my BTC after the fork, will I receive BCH?

Yes. If you had a positive BTC balance at the moment the fork occurred, you will receive this balance in BCH, regardless of whether you subsequently sold or sent your BTC from Luno.

Where can I see my BCH balance?

If you have a non-zero BCH balance, we will display a card on the home screen of the app, which will show your balance. At this time you are not able to view your BCH balance on Luno’s Android or iOS apps.

To view your BCH balance and send it, you must sign in to Luno from your web browser and see this page.

Which exchanges support BCH?

Bitcoin companies and service providers are still in the process of deciding whether they support BCH or not. Luno will not make recommendations for third party services.

Why can’t I buy BCH on Luno?

Luno regards Bitcoin as the most popular and legitimate digital currency. We continuously monitor the industry and we may decide to list other digital currencies in the future. At this time, however, we have no plans to enable receiving, buying or selling of BCH.